 Gauchos Take The Show On The Road
Coming off of a 3-1 victory in its season opener on Tuesday against Cal State Bakersfield, UC Santa Barbara (1-0-0) is now headed to the West Virginia University/Nike Classic where the Gauchos will face the host Mountaineers (0-0-0) on Friday and Pitt (1-0-0) on Sunday. UCSB has posted a 1-0-0 all-time record against West Virginia. During the teams' last meeting 10 years ago (Sept. 5, 1999), UCSB recorded a 3-2 victory. Sunday's match will be the first-ever between the Gauchos and Pitt.

 UCSB Outruns The Roadrunners
During Tuesday's season-opener against Cal State Bakersfield, the Gauchos got on the scoreboard early with two goals in the first 10 minutes. Senior Martin Hedevag struck first with a header in the sixth minute and freshman Michael Nonni posted his first official collegiate goal in the ninth minute. Bakersfield's Oscar Coppieters put the Roadrunners on the board with a penalty kick, but the Gauchos pushed their lead back to two-goals when Nonni tallied his second goal in the 88th minute. UCSB took the 3-1 win, which matched the score from the Gauchos' exhibition win over Westmont on Aug. 22. Interestingly, Nonni scored twice and Hedevag scored once in that game as well.

 Oh Canada Indeed!
Freshman Michael Nonni has given the Gaucho faithful a lot to cheer about during his two appearances on Meredith Field this year. The native of West Vancouver has scored four goals - two official - between the game with Bakersfield and the exhibition with Westmont. In addition to his two goals on Tuesday, Nonni also assisted Hedevag's goal.

 Hedevag's Header
Prior to the start of the season, head coach Tim Vom Steeg pointed out that senior Martin Hedevag's abilities in the air would be an asset to the Gaucho attack. His header in the ninth minute on Tuesday definitely provided that. The goal marked the sixth of his career.

 Assisted Living
Sophomores Luis Silva and Danny Barrera each assisted a pair of goals on Tuesday. Silva headed the ball to Nonni who then headed it to Hedevag for the first goal of the game. A few minutes later, he dished the ball to Barrera for the dual assist Nonni's first goal. In the second half, Barrera fed the ball to Nonni once again for the third Gaucho goal. Barrera led the team with five assists last season while Silva finished 2008 with four helpers.

 Machael David Named As An "Unsung Player To Watch" by College Soccer News
Freshman Machael David was named to Joe Mauceri's "Unsung Players To Watch In 2009" list on CollegeSoccerNews.com. David came into Tuesday's game in 24th minute and took the first of four shots just four minutes later. He was tied first on the team with Nonni and senior David Walker, who all recorded four shots during Tuesday's match.

 Shots All Around
UCSB out-shot Bakersfield 17-3 and had seven shots on frame. Three of David Walker's four shots were on-goal. The shots were almost evenly split - nine in the first half, eight in the second.

 Defensive Behavior
While the Gaucho offense was on full display Tuesday, the defense also had a solid showing. Bakersfield only took three shots, one of which was the penalty kick that resulted in the lone Roadrunner goal. Junior Sam Hayden got the starting nod in the goal and had saved the only other on-frame shot of the game.

 Gauchos Picked First In Big West Preseason Poll
In a vote of the Big West men's soccer coaches earlier this month, UCSB was predicted to win the league championship. The Gauchos garnered a total of 45 points in the poll and picked up four first-place votes. Defending conference champs UC Irvine claimed second-place in the poll with two first-place votes and 40 points. Cal Poly rounded out the top-three with 34 points. The Gauchos will begin their 2009 Big West schedule when they host UC Irvine on Sept. 27.

 On The Horizon
Mark your calendars for Sept. 11, the date of the next UCSB home match. The Gauchos will take on some guys from Jersey (known to some as Rutgers) in a nationally televised pairing. First touch is slated for 8 p.m.

 Smile For The Cameras
The UCSB soccer team will get a chance to see if the cameras really do add 10 pounds - twice this season. Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast UCSB's game against Rutgers and its game against Indiana on Oct. 2 for its "Game of the Week". Santa Barbara is the only collegiate men's soccer program to have two games televised nationally this season. The Oct. 2 game will also serve as the five-year anniversary celebration of UCSB's 2004 College Cup Final appearance.

 Get Your Tickets!
Fans can purchase tickets for UCSB soccer games by calling (805) 893-UCSB, by visiting the Ticket Office located inside the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus or online by logging on to UCSBgauchos.com.

 GKids Today, Gauchos Tomorrow
UCSB Athletics is proud to introduce GKids - its new official kids club! GKids members will receive a free GKids t-shirt, free admittance to tons of Gaucho games, opportunities to be ball boys and girls at games, a special birthday greeting from Olie (the new GKids mascot) and much, much more! For more information on GKids, or to become a member, please click here.